One Year
by Celonhael
Summary: Kagome makes an interesting discovery that impacts InuYasha.


_This one is a bit long, as there was no real place to make 'chapters'. Sorry for the length._

The rain had stopped. The sun was back out. It was hot.  
It was apparent the drought hadn't broken, but at least the rivers, wells, and streams were back up to almost full. Farmers were trying to water their crops, but many had already withered past the point of being able to come back. Winter provisions were being broken into.  
There was no snow.  
The farmers were growing worried. The ground continued to dry. And with no snow, how would the ground get the much-needed water next spring? Snow melts in the spring, soaking the ground, preparing them for new seeds. With no snow, the spring would start as dry as the autumn ended.  
Things were looking more and more dire.  
InuYasha was bored.  
That in itself was usually bad enough, but he didn't even have Kagome around to talk to. Or annoy. Or be annoyed by.  
She had gone home four days ago, having to catch up on schoolwork. Highschool was demanding, worse than junior high. She only had two years left before she was expected to start college.  
InuYasha wasn't sure what was going to happen then. If she had to drop everything and run back _now_, what was she going to do in this thing called _Call-edge?_ She told him it was harder, more demanding. She'd probably be over there more than she was over here.  
She was only gone four days, and already he was starting to miss her. What was he supposed to do when this Call-edge thing happened?  
There were days InuYasha was feeling unbelievably selfish. If there had been some way to destroy the well, he would have seriously considered it. He would have trapped her in his time.  
But he remembered the utter panic and grief she had experienced the time her well had been sabotaged. He would never purposefully put her through that again.  
He mumbled to himself, grumpily.  
At least the unhappy, unpleasant tension around them had changed. He still got hot under the collar when he remembered how Kagome had tried to set him up with Chichiko, but he had forgiven her. They had an unspoken agreement not to even talk about it.  
It was easier for him to accept it once DarkWind had told him _why_.  
The hard part was that now he wasn't allowed to let her know.  
The Kageri had told him...that Kagome loved him.  
She loved him again.  
But she didn't want to. She was so afraid of being hurt, she refused to admit it, even to herself. So when she had thought...when she had sensed that maybe those old feelings were coming back, she had done an emotional "hot-potato" with the hopes of having him fall for someone else.  
He sighed.  
InuYasha was perched on the edge of the well, looking down into the blackness.  
Miroku and Sango were sitting together, making ink, and they seemed to be in their own little world. He didn't want to interrupt anything, and was heavily feeling...well, not unwanted but...  
_If I come over and visit, are you going to get angry? Because I really don't want to make you angry, not now._  
His old ways surfaced, a voice demanding, _What does it matter if she gets angry? Too damn bad! I can go if I want! She doesn't own me!_  
A newer voice, a year older than the first, a tiny bit wiser, a tiny bit more mature, took the first voice and shoved it into a mental closet, slamming the door, _Shut that talk up. It gets you no where, it gets you in trouble, and it usually gets you sat._  
"I'll just pop over. I'll peek in on her, see what she's doing. If she's studying, I'll just say hi and come back. Maybe I won't even say hi. Maybe I'll just come back."  
If the InuYasha who had only known Kagome a short time had seen this year older InuYasha, he would have been angry, and disgusted. _This_ Inuyasha had no brass. He was weak. He was _timid!_  
But _this_ year older InuYasha had been through more. He had suffered, both physically and emotionally. He had gained friends that had become family. And he had lost something very dear to him. _This_ InuYasha had learned a little decorum, a little modesty, a little _sense._  
_This_ InuYasha could have kicked the younger InuYasha's ass.  
With a sigh, he steeled himself, and hopped down through the well.

The first thing he noticed when he leapt up through the well was that there were charms and sutras everywhere. He guessed Kagome's grandfather was trying to keep any demons from InuYasha's time from crossing through. Now that the well was basically open full-time to anyone and anything, they had to be very careful.  
He wasn't sure, though, if Kagome's grandfather's spells were worth anything. Certainly they hadn't done anything in stopping _him_ the first time he had come through.  
_We really need to seal that up better._  
The second thing he noticed was that it was colder here.  
He walked up the stairs to the sliding doors, and pushed them back.  
And blinked.  
There was a light layer of snow on the ground, only about half an inch thick. It made the yard look like it was buried in cherry blossom petals.  
InuYasha shut the doors behind him, and walked across the yard, leaving footprints in the snow. Pausing at the edge of the yard, he gazed out over the massive city that Kagome lived in. Even after seeing it several times now, it still sort of startled him. A village that literally extended to the horizon. With giant buildings, and lights always flashing, and always noise. Sirens, cars honking, planes growling overhead.  
He turned, and walked on, heading towards the house.  
He noticed right away that there were several footsteps leading into the house. One set was very small - he assumed it was Souta's, and a few others.  
InuYasha slid back the door, stepping inside. He paused.  
He could smell Kagome's scent in here, and lighter, Souta's. Her mother and grandfather didn't seem to be in there.  
There was another scent too, an unfamiliar one. Human. Male.  
_Maybe it's a cousin or something. I better be careful._  
He heard voices, and started heading towards them. They sounded like they were in the living room. InuYasha paused in the kitchen, listening. He knew the layout of the house well enough by now that if they started coming closer, he could bolt somewhere else and hide. He knew Kagome didn't want people seeing him. For some reason, she was convinced that he was in danger in her world.  
Kagome's voice came to him.  
"I don't know what you think you're doing here, but you have a lot of nerve, Daikaro,"  
InuYasha blinked. Kagome sounded a little angry.  
Another voice spoke, a man's.  
"You know perfectly why I'm here. You think I didn't know? You think I wasn't able to figure out it was you? You stole that money, all of it."  
InuYasha blinked again, startled. Money?  
Kagome had stolen money?!  
"Fine. You caught me. Congradulations. Give yourself a medal. I suppose you're going to call the police now, turn me in."  
"No. Why would I do that when I have you right where I want you?"  
_What the-_  
"What are you talking about, Daikaro?"  
The man's voice sounded smug, "You've been turning me away all this time. I try to touch you, and you act like I have a disease. Well, no longer. I have you over a barrel now, don't I? You're going to do _everything_ I want you to do. And I'm going to have fun thinking up some things you'll be doing."  
Rage flooded InuYasha, he saw red. How _dare_ that _bastard_ think he was going to force Kagome to-!  
_"I'm going to chew on your __**bones**_," he snarled, moving into the room. He grabbed the hilt of his Tetsusaiga, one hand reaching out towards the man who stood there, looking absolutely startled.  
Kagome's voice was sharp, _"No!"_  
"He's not _touching_ you, I'll skin him al-'  
"_SIT!"_  
_WHAM._  
Kagome turned to the young man who was staring at InuYasha in shock, eyes wide, "Did I see _fangs!?"_  
"He's in costume!" Kagome cried, gathering up some papers sitting around the room, "You need to go, Yoshijo, I'm really sorry. We'll practice some more later, ok?"  
She started pushing the shocked student towards her door, as he kept trying to look behind her, at the prone hanyou, "Are...you sure he's safe, Kagome? Maybe I should stay-"  
"Oh yes, my cousin's just off his meds again. He's harmless to family! Really! I'll give you a full refund of this tutoring time, ok? Don't worry about it!"  
She pushed him out into the show, shoving his jacket at him, "Bye!" and shut the door in his face.  
Turning, Kagome ran back into her living room in time to see InuYasha standing, his nose bright pink from being flattened against the floor. His hand was on the hilt of Tetsusaiga, and he was looking around.  
"_What the hell did you do that for? And where is he? I'll feed him his own hands!"_  
"No! Stop! It's ok!"  
He rounded on her, "Ok?! He was going to force himself on you!"  
"No, we were rehearsing a play! He's a student at my school! He wasn't really saying those things!"  
InuYasha stared at her, almost shivering with fury, "You...he wasn't...?"  
"No, no," she walked to him, and lightly touched his arm, "Calm down. It was just for a play. That's all. I'm ok."  
_"Damnit,_" he hissed, letting go of the hilt, "_Your whole world is crazy, you know that!?"_  
"Yes," Kagome said gently, calming him down, "Yes it is. Take a deep breath. You ok now?"  
"Yeah, sure, I'm _fine_," he muttered, a bright red flush across his nose.  
Embarassed.  
Kagome smiled, patting his hand, "Don't worry about it. Yoshijo's a good guy, he's pretty cool."  
"Yeah...whatever."  
Kagome studied him, and he suddenly found himself tensing, flushing.  
"What are you looking at?"  
Kagome blinked, "Nothing, just wondering what's up, why you're here."  
InuYasha mentally kicked himself, cursed his big mouth. He forced himself to calm down, and spoke levelly.  
"I...came to see what you were doing. Is that ok?"  
Kagome blinked, "Sure. Of course it is!"  
He looked relived, and she felt a brief surge of sadness. He was trying so hard, trying not to upset her, make her angry. He was so _different_ from how he used to act a little over a year ago.  
Kagome suddenly frowned, a year?  
InuYasha peered at her, "What's wrong?"  
"Huh? Oh, nothing. I just...I just remembered something. Um...are you hungry? You want something to eat? I could make a snack or something."  
InuYasha shrugged, and she smiled, turning and heading towards the kitchen, "Sit at the table, I'll make you a sandwich."  
InuYasha slid onto a chair, watching her.  
Kagome started taking things out of the cupboards, suddenly thinking about how angry he had been when he had come around the corner. The utter rage on his face had startled her so badly.  
_Thank goodness I managed to get that sit out. If he had actually gotten ahold of Yoshijo..._  
Kagome studied the bread as she worked.  
He was still so protective of her. She would have expected any good male friend to have come to her defense, if they had thought the same. Certainly Miroku would have come to her aid, and been furious as well.  
But InuYasha had been enraged. And outraged, that someone have tried to force themselves on her...  
"How are your studies going?" he asked.  
"Good, actually. I got some test results back today - I passed everything! My grades weren't _great_, but they were good! It's weird, I'm finding some of these subjects easier than in junior high. Maybe my brain got bigger over in your time or something."  
She turned, holding a plate with a roast beef sandwich on it, and stopped, blinking, "That might be it!"  
InuYasha had been looking at the sandwich eagerly, but he blinked, looking at her, "Huh?"  
Kagome walked over, putting the plate in front of him, and walked to the fridge to get him something to drink, "I'll bet it's the Shikon! Using the Shikon has made me brighter!"  
She poured a glass of apple juice, and turned, handing it to him, "I'll bet that's it! It made me smart!"  
InuYasha took the glass, and picked up the sandwich, "You didn't need the Shikon to be smart, Kagome, you're already smart."  
Kagome watched as he took a big bite from the sandwich, a little startled. That was certainly unexpected.  
He glance up at her, and saw her staring at him. Blinking, he tried to ask her what was wrong. Realizing he had a mouth full of food, he flushed, and swallowed, "What? What's wrong?"  
"Nothing," she said quietly, "Eat your sandwich, I have to get something from my room."  
Kagome turned, walking upstairs, and going into her room. Standing up on a chair, she reached into the closet, up on the top shelf, rummaging around for something. A few seconds later, she pulled out a small white diary. She blew the dust off it, and rummaged again for the key.  
Kagome stood on the chair, and opened her diary. She flipped through the pages, looking for something. Finally locating the date she was looking for, she started to read.

He finished the sandwich and put the plate and glass in the sink. He waited for Kagome to come down from her bedroom, wandering into the living room. A few seconds later, he heard the door slide back, and Souta called out, "I'm home! Sis?"  
"She's upstairs."  
"InuYasha!" the little boy ran into the room, shucking off his jacket, "You're here!"  
"Yeah."  
"When did you get here?"  
"A little while ago. Where were you?"  
"I was out with my friends playing baseball."  
"Base - oh yeah, that thing with the stick and the ball."  
"Yeah!" Souta grinned, remembering the time he had badgered InuYasha to play baseball with him while they had waited for Kagome to come home. Souta had thrown the ball after showing InuYasha how to hold the bat and swing. The ball had gone sailing out, and InuYasha had swung. The ball and bat had connected with a resounding _crack_.  
The last time Souta had been that baseball, it had gone shooting out over the city, vanishing within seconds.  
"I'm starving!" Souta said.  
"There's beef in the fridge, make a sandwich."  
"I'm not allowed," Souta said.  
InuYasha blinked at him, "You're not allowed to make a sandwich?"  
"I'm not allowed to use those big knives. Last time I tried I cut myself, and mom got mad."  
"Oh. I'll cut it for you."  
"Alright!"  
A few minutes later, Souta was sitting down to an _enormous_ slab of beef between two pieces of bread. The little boy eyed it dubiously, "I don't know. It's...big."  
"You're a growing kid, you need food."  
"Uh..."  
"Just eat what you want then," InuYasha said, exasperated.  
His ears pricked up when he heard Kagome coming down the hallway. She seemed to be talking to someone, her voice low.  
"Please, mom? I know it's a bother, but I really need...I'll owe you! I'll dust out the storehouses! Well...today! Or tomorrow. Before I go back! Please? Pretty please!"  
There was a pause. InuYasha frowned. How was Kagome talking to her mother?  
"Thanks! I mean it! No, nothing over the top. White. Mom, no, no name! Just the usual ha - yeah. No I can't pick it up, _he's here now._ Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you! Ok, bye!"  
Kagome walked into view, holding a little black box to her ear, a smile on her face. As he watched, she folded the box up, and slipped it into her pocket.  
"Souta, you're - what's that!?"  
"InuYasha made me a sandwich!"  
"That's...wow. Can you eat all that?"  
"I'm going to try!"  
"Don't make yourself sick."  
InuYasha pointed to her pocket, "Was that one of those little phone things you well telling me about? Cells?"  
She smiled at him, "A cell phone, yeah. I was talking to mom about something."  
InuYasha watched as Kagome talked to Souta about his day. This world seemed to border on magic. Things called cars that moved around like wagons with no horses. Boxes that magically make things hot within seconds, boxes that made things cold. Boxes with voices in them, or images that moved. Little tiny boxes that you carried with you and it let you talk to people miles away...  
"So I won't be gone that long, ok?"  
"Sure, Sis, InuYasha and I can find something to do around here."  
"Wait, what?" InuYasha looked at Kagome, "Where are you going?"  
"I have to run into the city for a few minutes. I won't be long."  
"I'll come with you."  
"No, you stay here, I won't be long."  
"I don't _want_ to stay here!"  
"You can't come with me right now."  
InuYasha glared at her. He had come over to visit her, and she was taking off and leaving him! Fine!  
"Maybe I'll go back if I'm going to be a _bother_."  
Kagome looked at him, and took him by the arm. She pulled him into the porch, and spoke lowly.  
"Please, InuYasha, I need you to stay here and keep an eye on Souta for me."  
InuYasha blinked, "Huh?"  
"He's too young to be left here alone yet, and I have to go run an errand for mom."  
"Well then bring him with you!"  
"I can't. He's supposed to start his homework soon."  
He looked at her, annoyed. He didn't expect to have to babysit.  
"_Please?_" she begged.  
He growled, "Alright, fine. But you owe me."  
"Thanks, I appreciate this!"  
"Yeah, sure, whatever."  
Kagome felt a little guilty lying to him, but she had no choice right now. She felt even worse playing on his ego to get him to stay put. But whatever worked.  
He watched as she grabbed up her purse, put on her shoes, yanked on her jacket, and ran out.

He was more bored here than back in his world. He had nothing to do, and wasn't comfortable poking around that much. Things broke way too easily in this world.  
Souta pulled out some books, and started doing work. InuYasha walked upstairs, and into Kagome's room.  
As always, her scent was so thick in this room. It was like she was surrounded by her.  
He noticed that some things had changed since he was there last. Some of the stuffed animals were gone, now. Some of little frilly things were gone as well.  
He was pleased to see the ugly stuffed elephant he had worn for her at the carnival was still there though. It sat on a shelf of her bookshelf, looking like a giant fluffball.  
InuYasha picked it up, grinning at it. He remembered winning it for her. How proud she had been of it, how pleased. He remembered how the other guys at the carnival had looked at him differently after that, after they had seen him win toy after toy for her. It had been pathethically easy...the balls had all been rigged with weights so they were always heavier on one side or the other. But being a hanyou, his senses were so much stronger than a human's, and it had been so easy to just roll the ball in the palm of his hand for a second, and feel which was the weight lay. Then it was just a matter of throwing either to the left or right, to compensate.  
They had eaten something called ice cream. And they had gone into that funhouse...  
He grinned at the elephant, as if they shared a secret, and he put it back.  
He walked over, and lay down on her bed, hands behind his head. He remembered the night they had slept there together, him on top of the blankets, her under it...the same way they had slept at that castle that time. He suddenly remembered Souta telling Kagome's grandfather that she and InuYasha had slept together in Kagome's bed.  
That had been a horrible mix-up.  
He rolled over onto his right side, pressing his face into her pillow.  
He could smell her hair...  
"What are you doing?"  
"Augh!" InuYasha jumped, almost falling off the bed, staring at Souta as the little boy stood watching him.  
"Nothing! Never mind! Aren't you supposed to be doing homework or something?"  
"I'm all done. I didn't have a lot."  
InuYasha slipped off Kagome's bed and sat on the floor, watching as Souta came in and sat across from him. The little boy looked around, "Sis doesn't usually let me come in here, but she doesn't know I come in a lot when she's over there with you."  
InuYasha looked at him, "Why?"  
Souta sighed, "I miss her. Sis gets annoyed with me a lot, and sometimes I think she's a real snotty person, but I miss her."  
InuYasha just looked at the little boy.  
Souta spoke again, "She's not like she was before, though. She always used to snap at me and stuff, poke fun of me. She's nicer to me since she started going over there."  
"Well...she misses you," InuYasha said, not quite sure what he should say.  
"Yeah? Does she really?"  
"Why wouldn't she? You're her brother."  
"Yeah." Souta fell silent for a minute, then he turned serious eyes on the hanyou.  
"You're taking care of her over there, right?"  
InuYasha blinked, "What?"  
"You're taking care of her over there? You're making sure she's not getting hurt or anything right?"  
InuYasha leaned back, wide eyed, "Why are you asking me that!?"  
"I saw her once, and she's got a lot of scars! They look really bad! What happened to her?"  
InuYasha blinked, shocked. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He just goggled for a second, before finally finding his voice.  
"She...she got hurt. It was...it was bad. But it was an accident, and she got better!"  
"Sis says you're always there to keep her safe! Why did she get hurt?"  
Anger surfaced slightly, anger at himself.  
"I told you it was an accident, Souta! Sometimes accidents happen. If I could have prevented it from happening, I would have! Besides, Kagome's not the easiest person to protect!"  
"What do you mean?"  
Tension welled to the surface, and he crossed his arms, glaring at the floor, "You try to protect her and she gets angry at you, telling you it's something she needs to _do_! She wants to _do_ something, or _go_ somewhere, and I tell her she can't, it's too dangerous, and she tells me to go to hell or something! She thinks she can take on the world with that sword of hers, and you can't tell her otherwise! Yeah, ok, she's good with it, but she's not a master or anything! But she still grabs the damn thing and takes off! _I'm_ supposed to protect her, keep her safe, and when I try she yells at me, or sits me!"  
He paused for breath, looking to Souta. The little boy was staring at him, wide-eyed. InuYasha was about to say something, when Souta interrupted him.  
"Kagome has a _sword_?!"  
InuYasha blinked, _"You...you didn't hear that from me, you got that?!"_  
"That's cool!"  
_"You didnt hear that! Don't even talk about it!"_  
"Ok, ok, but it's cool!"  
InuYasha warily studied Souta. The little boy was beaming at him.  
"If I go to the Feudal Era with Kagome some time, will you show me how to use a sword? For real?"  
"Yeah, I guess."  
"Man, it's like that well is a coolness-machine or something! Kagome goes back in time, and when she comes back, she's suddenly so _cool_ and _popular_! She has a sword, and she's really fit now, and hardly nothing upsets her anymore! All the kids in my class tell I'm so lucky to have her as my big sister!"  
InuYasha watched Souta, curiously, "Yeah?"  
"Yeah! She's hardly at school, and they all think she's, like, got this important job or something! Eiichi says that Yoshijo thinks she's a model, that's why she's out of school all the time. And when she comes to my school to pick me up, she's really nice to all the kids. Hatsuye wants to be just like her when she grows up!"  
InuYasha listened to Souta ramble, grinning. They all thought Kagome was amazing, huh? Good. Kagome was pretty damn amazing, when she wanted to be.  
And at least she didn't seem to be having trouble with her school anymore, if she was popular.  
"She's popular, huh?"  
"Yeah. A lot of my classmates have older siblings in Kagome's classes."  
"Souta, what's a 'model'?"  
"You know, it's...I guess you don't know. A model is a person who wears certain clothing for a certain company. So people can see what it looks like, and then go buy it."  
InuYasha blinked, confused.  
"Hang on a sec," Souta stood up, and ran out of Kagome's bedroom. A second or two later, he came in with a magazine, and handed it to him, "See this? All these pages...like this one? And this one? All these people are models."  
InuYasha took the magazine, peering at it curiously. He had seen a couple of these before...once on the trip to the carnival - it was how he knew how he was supposed to wear the weird clothing Kagome had brought for him. The pictures in the magazine were strange...people just standing, or talking, or sitting, or doing various things. He wasn't sure what they were supposed to be selling, as it would just show a person, and a single word or phrase at the bottom.  
He turned the pages, looking through, "Is it just clothing?"  
"Oh no, you can model all kinds of things. Cars, clothes, hats, books, even perfume. Anything."  
He turned another page, and blinked.  
A woman was sitting on a couch, reading a book. Her house looked nice, and there was a cat curled up at her feet.  
The woman was sitting in her bra and underwear.  
InuYasha blinked, glaring at the offending picture, "Why isn't this woman wearing any clothing!?"  
Souta leaned in, and innocently peered at the picture. He shrugged, "That's an underwear model. For a special type of underwear."  
"And people think Kagome does this? Kagome wouldn't let someone take a picture of her in her underwear!"  
Souta laughed, "There are all kinds of models, InuYasha. Some people only model their hands. Like for pictures of rings or things. And I said it was Yoshijo that thought she was a model."  
InuYasha relaxed a little, closing the magazine. He paused, looking closer at Souta, "Yoshijo? He was here earlier."  
"Yeah, he got Kagome to be his tutor in the acting arts."  
"What's a 'tutor'?"  
"Someone who teaches you something and you pay them."  
"So, a teacher."  
"Sort of. Though most tutors aren't adults, they just help another student in one or two things, and make extra money that way."  
"Oh. Huh."  
"Yoshijo's ok. He's kinda funny. I like you a _lot_ better though!"  
InuYasha grinned, "Thanks, Souta."  
"Yoshijo's the only guy who decided to get Kagome as a tutor. Eiichi says Yoshijo doesn't really need help."  
InuYasha frowned, "Who's Eiichi?"  
"He's in my class, he's Yoshijo's little brother. We hang out a lot."  
"Oh. Well, if he didn't need help, why would he get Kagome to help him?"  
"Eiichi says it's how Yoshijo decided to make a play for Kagome."  
InuYasha looked confused, " 'Make a play'? What are you talking about?"  
Souta looked bored, "You know, he wants to go out with Kagome."  
"Go out where?"  
Souta looked at InuYasha, and laughed, "I mean he wants to be Kagome's boyfriend!"  
InuYasha blinked, sitting up straighter, _"What!?"_  
"Yeah. I told you, Sis is really popular now, especially with the guys. My friends tell me their older brothers all think she's hot."  
_"They do, do they?"_ InuYasha yelled, "Well they damn well better _stop_ thinking that!"  
Souta leaned back, looking bored again, as only a little boy can, "That's what I told them too. I told them that sis has a boyfriend already, so they can stop trying to date her."  
InuYasha looked at Souta, eyes wide, "She does?! Who!?"  
Souta blinked at InuYasha, "You!"  
InuYasha just blinked, speechless.  
Souta shrugged, "I know you guys are...you know...not dating anymore or anything, but I don't like Yoshijo, or the others that much. I like you better. So I said you were with Kagome."  
Relief swept through the hanyou, "Thanks, Souta. What did Yoshijo say to that?"  
Souta shrugged, "Eiichi said that _he_ said that he didn't care, he really liked Kagome, and that he was going to win her away from her so-called boyfriend."  
"Oh yeah?" InuYasha growled, "If he thinks he's going to win Kagome's favor over me, he's got another think coming to him. Next time I see him I'll-"  
"Where is everyone!?" Kagome's voice came from downstairs, "You guys still here?"  
Souta and InuYasha left Kagome's room, heading for the living room. InuYasha grabbed Souta's shoulder, and spoke lowly, "Don't...don't tell Kagome you told me all that, alright?"  
Souta blinked, "Why not?"  
"Just don't!"  
"Ok..."  
"Guys?"  
"We're up here!" Souta called out, and they walked downstairs.  
Kagome was just hanging up her jacket when they walked up to her. Kagome looked at them, and was about to speak, when she noticed the angry look on InuYasha's face.  
_That guy better not be thinking about Kagome sitting around in her underwear!_ he thought savagely.  
"InuYasha?"  
"What? Uh.." He blinked, "Uh...good...trip?"  
Kagome chuckled, "Yeah, thanks. Souta, did you eat all that sandwich?"  
"I ate half. The rest is in the fridge."  
"Alright. Mom and grandpa should be home in a bit, they're running a little late. Did you do your homework?"  
"Yeah, I didn't have much."  
"Alright. I need to do a little homework too...go up in your room and play video games till mom comes home?"  
Souta blinked. This was a rare treat, "Ok, sure! You wanna come watch, InuYasha?"  
"Uh..."  
"I don't think he'll like it," Kagome said, slipping off her shoes, and putting on some slippers.  
"Why not?" the little boy asked, "It's fun!"  
"Haven't you noticed InuYasha doesn't like to watch TV? It gives him a headache."  
Souta looked at InuYasha, wide-eyed, "It does? Maybe he needs glasses."  
InuYasha looked from Kagome to Souta, listening. He hated it when people talked like he wasn't even in the room...  
Kagome laughed, smiling at InuYasha, "No Souta, he doesn't need glasses. His eyes are just a lot better than ours."  
"What do you mean?"  
"InuYasha, tell Souta what you see when you look at the TV."  
InuYasha looked at Souta, feeling a little uneasy. Why was Kagome pointing out his differences like this?  
"I...I see the stuff like you do, but there are all these blank spots in between. It hurts my eyes, gives me a headache."  
Souta frowned, "I don't understand."  
"Well..." Kagome looked at her little brother, but lightly rested her hand on the hanyou's arm as she talked. InuYasha blinked at Kagome, startled. Kagome's fingertips were gently stroking his arm as she talked.  
_I...I dont think she even knows what she's doing._  
Kagome continued, "...and I read that dogs don't watch TV because TV is actually set up for human eyes. We see at 60 frames a second. So when you look at the TV, it's not really a steady image. It's an image that flashes 60 times a second. Dogs can see at _90_ times a second. So they can see the blank spots in between. InuYasha does too."  
Souta blinked at InuYasha again, and beamed, "That's so _cool!_"  
"His eyesight is so much better than ours," Kagome finished, "He's like...a super human."  
She glanced up at InuYasha, startled to see him watching her, a blush bright on his face, as he listened to her talking about how powerful he was, how much _better_ than a human he was. She suddenly turned bright red, and dropped her hand, backing up a step, her voice faltering nervously, "So...um...that's why he probably wouldn't like to watch video games."  
"Oh, alright then." Souta turned, and ran up to his bedroom. Any day he was allowed an extra hour of gametime was a good day!

Kagome sat at her desk, writing out the essay. She had taken enough notes, so it was pretty simple to just expand a little, and write it down.  
InuYasha lay on his back on her bed, behind her, arms holding a textbook out before him, looking through the book. Kagome had figured the best thing to do was to give the hanyou something to do so he wasn't just staring at her back.  
InuYasha found the books somewhat boring. She had given him a few books, and he was lightly glancing over the stories. Occasionally he would stumble across some of Kagome's notes in the margins, but most of it made no sense. But he was willing to just shut up and let her finish.  
He could still feel her fingers on his arm, lightly stroking.  
The Kageri's voice came to him, _"When you see the first flame, you don't pile wood on it, that will smother the flames. You feed it, ever so slowly, letting it grow."  
"You expect me to just act like I don't know that she's starting to care about me again?! I tried that before, and it got me nowhere!"  
"Ah yes. But now you can see the first, tiny flame."_  
Letting him hold her in that cave.  
Touching him when she was talking to Souta. Not even _aware_ she had reached out and touched him...  
_The first, tiny flame._  
Besides, his mind kept going to this Yoshijo. Thought Kagome was a model, huh? Thought she was hot? He had better not be imagining Kagome in her underwear! Decided to get Kagome as a tutor? Wanted to be with her? Going to win her away from her boyfriend?!  
_Over my dead body, Yoshijo. I've been fighting for her this long, you think I'm going to let a little nobody like you step in? You think I'll lose to __**you**__?_  
Kagome leaned back, "There! Done!"  
InuYasha looked at her, "That was quick."  
"Well, I've been writing out exactly what I needed so it wouldn't take so long. I just had to write it out. Now I can turn it in tomorrow and be done."  
"So when are you coming back?" he asked, putting down the book. The faster she was back in his world the better.  
"Day after tomorrow. I need to turn this in, and then finish a lab in biology, and then I can...uh...come down with another rare and probably incurable disease."  
"What if you did it now. Hand it all in tomorrow, and then you can come back with me."  
"I can't," she said, turning in her chair and watching him, "I can only do the lab report in the science lab, and I can't just get in until my class is scheduled."  
InuYasha looked confused.  
She smiled, "I have to be in a special room to do the lab report, and my group of students aren't scheduled to be in that room until the day after tomorrow."  
"Meh."  
"It's not like we're in a rush to get the Shikon put back together."  
InuYasha glanced at her, and spoke, "You should leave that with me when you come back here."  
Kagome blinked, "What? Why?"  
"Because, remember that Noh mask? What if something like that happens again?"  
"But I'm shielding it, remember? Demons can't sense it anymore."  
He flicked an ear, snorting, picking up one of her books and looking into it again.  
Kagome spoke, "What's wrong?"  
"Nothing."  
"Come on, what is it?"  
"I said nothing!"  
"Well you're being very cranky for some reason."  
"I'm not cranky, shut up!"  
Kagome blinked.  
InuYasha flinched, and was about to apologise when she started laughing, "Yeah, ok, not cranky at _all_."  
He snorted, and was about to speak, when a strange trilling sound started in the room. InuYasha blinked, confused, until Kagome took the little black box out of her pocket, and flipped it open, putting it up to her ear.  
"Hello? Oh, hi Yoshijo."  
InuYasha blinked, then scowled. What was _he_ doing calling her? He rolled over and sat up, watching.  
"What? Oh no, I'm fine. No I _told_ you, he's not dangerous." Kagome met InuYasha's eyes with a smile.  
InuYasha looked away, scowling at his feet. He listened to a one-sided conversation.  
"No, it's fine, honest. I didn't mind." She laughed, "No, no, really. And like I said, you get a full refund on today's rehearsal, I don't expect you to - no, I can't - are you sure? Alright then, thanks."  
Kagome swivelled in her chair, turning back to her desk, starting to arrange some papers, slipping some into books and packing them away into her school bag. InuYasha watched her, quietly.  
"No, you did really good today, you projected perfectly. No really, you're really good at this, you have a natural talent!"  
She laughed again.  
InuYasha glared at his feet again. She was laughing way too damn much. And flattering that guy like that! He didn't need it, he knew he was ok!  
"Um...tomorrow's not good, actually, I have a friend visiting. Well, you said you only needed a few rehearsals anyway, and you've been here five already."  
InuYasha turned, blinking at her back, _He's been here five times already?! When?!_  
Kagome laughed again, sweetly, "That's so kind of you to say, but no, I haven't actually acted in my life. I just have some experience with it, that's all. Oh, you saw that play last year? Oh, thank you! I...oh.." her voice suddenly changed, and InuYasha peered at her closely. She spoke again, her voice a little softer, "Thank you. It was such an ugly dress, I felt like a walking cupcake."  
_Will you stop talking to him?!_  
"Listen, why don't you call Wakana? She's actually _in_ the acting club, she'd be much better than I- are you sure? I really don't know when I can start up the lessons again. I'm so busy with things, and I miss a lot of time myself...  
Oh. You know...I never thought of that! That would be a great idea!"  
_Will you just get off the phone?!_  
"I'll give you a call next time I'm back in town, ok? We can work out a schedule then. Ok great! Bye!"  
Kagome was beaming as she swivelled her chair back around, slipping her phone back into her pocket.  
"What was _that_ all about?" InuYasha demanded.  
Kagome blinked at him, "That was just Yoshijo."  
"I heard who it was," he snapped, "What did he want?"  
"What's your problem?" she asked, frowning, "He was just calling."  
"How often does this guy call you? What does he want?"  
Kagome blinked, "He only wanted to arrange another rehearsal time, that's all."  
_I'll bet he does,_ "Huh. And what was this great idea he had?"  
Kagome's cat walked in, and jumped up onto the bed. He looked from face to face as InuYasha and Kagome argued.  
"He's going to tutor me in chemistry."  
InuYasha blinked, "What do you mean?"  
Kagome frowned again. What was wrong with him?  
"He'll help me with my chemistry like how I help him with his acting."  
InuYasha crossed his arms, disgruntled, "Your teacher can teach you anything you need to know. You can't keep bringing this guy over all the time, it probably puts out your mother."  
Kagome leaned back, looking at him, confused, "She's working when he comes over."  
The hanyou looked back at her, alarmed, "You're here alone with this guy?"  
"InuYasha, what is your problem? Yoshijo's not exactly a mass murderer. Sometimes we're here, sometimes we're at his place."  
"You've been to his house!?" he yelled, suddenly upset, "Alone? What's the matter with you?"  
Kagome blinked, leaning back for a second, before she leaned forward, her chair creaking, "What's the matter with _you_? I'm only tutoring the guy!"  
InuYasha turned from her, arms crossed, hunched down like he expected a physical blow, "Don't be alone with this guy he's..he could be dangerous or something!"  
Kagome sighed, leaning back, "You're going to have to trust me on this, InuYasha, Yoshijo is trustworthy. He's a really nice guy."  
_Sure he is,_ he seethed, glaring at his own feet, _I'll bet he's real nice to you._  
Kagome shrugged. InuYasha was just being paranoid again - it wasn't anything new.  
"Mom will be back in a bit with supper. Would you like a shower or anything?"  
InuYasha blinked and looked at her, feeling out of sorts, "A shower? That your way of telling me I smell or something?"  
Kagome stood up, throwing her hands into the air, "No, I'm saying it's been so hot and dusty in your time I _thought_ you might like a chance to have a nice hot shower with soap and everything! But if you're going to bite my head off, forget it!"  
She turned, starting to stomp out of her bedroom, muttering dark things in her head. She had just opened the door and was on her way out when he called out her name.  
She turned, looking back at him.  
InuYasha had stood up, and was walking towards her. When she stopped, he paused, looking away, crossing his arms in that defensive posture again. His eyes were on the wall, but he looked uncomfortable.  
"I'm sorry, alright? A shower would be good."  
Kagome paused, watching his face. What was wrong with him lately? It had been a while since he had been so cranky and grumpy.  
She nodded, "Alright, I'll make sure there are towels in the bathroom. Give me a minute, and then you can come in."  
He nodded.

It was dark out when InuYasha came out of the shower, dressed, and went downstairs. He found Souta setting the table, blinking when he saw there were five settings.  
"Well, you're spending the night, aren't you, InuYasha?"  
"I...I don't know..." he paused. Would it be ok if he just stayed?  
"Sis said you were spending the night here..."  
"She did? Uh...ok. Where _is_ Kagome, anyway?"  
"She went out to the storehouse for a minute."  
He turned, starting towards the door, when Souta's voice interrupted him, "Hey, you're not going outside, are you?"  
InuYasha blinked over his shoulder, "Why not?"  
"Your hair is wet! It's cold out."  
InuYasha grinned, "That won't bother me." He reached for the door again, and Souta ran over to him, "Uh...help me set the table!"  
InuYasha blinked down at him, "What?"  
"The table, help me set it!" He grabbed InuYasha's sleeve, and started dragging him back towards the table.  
"What do you mean, help? You're putting down plates, how hard can it be?"  
"Well...here!" Souta shoved a plate at the hanyou. InuYasha took it, looking at Souta suspiciously. What was the kid doing?  
He reached over the table, putting the plate down where he figured it belonged, when he heard Kagome come back inside, shutting the door behind her, "Eeeee, it's getting chilly out there! I found something, Souta! I'm sure Grandpa won't mind. Is he finished with his shower yet?"  
She walked into the kitchen, and blinked at InuYasha, "Uh, oh. Hey! Good shower?" She was stuffing something into her pocket.  
InuYasha scowled. Had she been on that stupid phone thing again? Talking to Yoshijo?  
"It's a shower, I washed, the end."  
Kagome laughed, a somewhat fake laugh, and she walked past him, peering out the window.  
"Aren't Mom and Grandpa late?"  
"They had to make an extra stop." She looked meaningfully at her little brother, who nodded, "Oh."  
InuYasha was starting to get a little pissed off. What was with all the secrets?  
"I'm gonna head back now," he said, turning and heading towards the door. He felt pissed off, upset, and very cranky. If they didn't want him there, fine! He'd just head back! He had only been going to check in on her anyway!  
"What? No, you can't go yet!" Kagome walked towards him quickly, "You...haven't had supper!"  
He took ahold of the door handle, "I ate, it's fine."  
"No, I insist," Kagome grabbed his hand, pulling it away from the handle. InuYasha frowned at her, "I'm heading back."  
"No! I want you to stay for supper!"  
"Well _I_ want to go back!" he said, grabbing the door handle again.  
"I said no!" Kagome yelled, pulling his hand away from the door handle again. He blinked when she stepped in front of the door, blocking the handle. She scowled at him, "Go in and sit down!"  
"Get out of the way!"  
"I said go into the living room and sit down!"  
"No!"  
"If you don't sit down I'll 'sit' you right here!"  
"Fine!" he yelled, "Go ahead!"  
"Mom's home!" Souta yelled, seeing his mother and grandfather walking towards the doorway, several bags and boxes in their arms.  
"Mom bought you supper!" Kagome hissed, angry, "So you go in there and sit down right now!"  
He glared at her, "Fine! I'll eat the stupid supper!"  
He stomped over towards the living room, "But then I'm going back!"  
"Fine!"  
"Fine!"  
"Sis!" Souta wailed, "But the...the..."  
"Shut up, Souta," Kagome hissed, angry, opening the door for her mother.  
"My goodness, it's getting really chilly out there!" Kagome's grandfather said, walking in. He was holding a bag that consisted of several seperate boxes and containers. A delicious smell started to waft out from the bag.  
InuYasha's nose started to twitch, though he refused to look at anything other than the tv which was powered off. He muttered dire things to himself, glaring at the reflection of Kagome and her mother in the TV.  
"Kagome, dear, here's the...thing you wanted."  
"Oh, thanks, Mom!" Kagome walked over to the counter, taking the large box from her mother.  
Kagome and her mother put their heads together, and started talking lowly. InuYasha noticed Mrs. Higurashi glance over at him, in the reflection of the TV, and move back to talk to Kagome.  
Great. They were _talking_ about him.  
He glared at Kagome's reflection as she talked.  
_I should have just stayed home, it's almost always a stupid mess when I come over. Now she's all impressed by this stupid Yoshijo, and doesn't even want me here, just being polite..._  
His thoughts died off when as he watched Kagome, and saw her shake her head at her mother. She looked back to the counter, and sighed.  
He blinked. He knew Kagome's body language, and she was looking upset, and ...sad?  
_Damnit, now what?_  
"Souta," Mrs. Higurashi called, "Help me divide up the food, dear."  
"Can't Kagome do it?"  
"She asked you, Souta!" Kagome snapped, turning to walk into the living room.  
InuYasha kept looking at Kagome's reflection in the TV, watching as she walked up to stand beside him, "Can I talk to you for a second?"  
He paused, getting a very bad feeling in his stomach, "What is it?"  
"Come here," she said, and walked past him, towards the hallway.  
InuYasha blinked, turning to watch her. He was getting a _very_ bad feeling about this.  
Nervously, he stood up, and followed behind her. Behind him he could hear Kagome's family setting out the food on the plates, talking.  
Kagome walked into the hallway, at the bottom of the stairs, and turned, watching as he walked up to her.  
He crossed his arms. He was very uneasy, but retreated into a defensive posture, "What?"  
"Look, I...I'm sorry I'm not doing this right, but it kind of snuck up on me. And I was having to sort of sneak around so you wouldn't find out."  
InuYasha blinked, looking at her, alarmed.  
What...what was she-  
_I don't want to hear this! Her and Yoshijo..!_  
"It's not important," he said coldly, half turning away from her, "Don't bother."  
"It _is_ important," she said, shaking her head, "I told you I would do it, so I am. I just wanted it to be...I don't know...I had it planned better when I thought about it, but I wanted to do it _today_, but there wasn't time for everything, and I _know_ you hate a big deal being made."  
InuYasha turned back to her, blinking, confused, "What the hell are you talking about?"  
Kagome sighed, and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a small, red strap of leather, a tiny black fringe hanging from it, and held it out to him.  
Curious, confused, InuYasha held out his hand, and Kagome gently put it into his palm.  
"Happy Birthday, InuYasha."  
He blinked again, looking at her. "I...what?"  
She looked unhappy, "I should have wrapped it, it's not as much fun just getting it like that, but-"  
"What...what is it?"  
"It's for Tetsusaiga. It's a sheath strap. You tie it around the sheath there, so you can tie it onto your belt or something. I mean, I know you usually like just sliding Tetsusaiga's sheath through your hakama there, so you can pull it out if you need it, so I thought if nothing else you could just tie it on at the top of the sheath so it would like nice. Sort of like a...a decoration or something."  
InuYasha stared at the strap, wide-eyed, in silence. He was literally struck dumb.  
Kagome spoke again, "It's been in our family for generations, according to Grandpa. It's red, like your clothes, I thought it would-"  
"But it's not my birthday," he looked at her, _very_ confused, "I don't even know _when_ my birthday is, remember?"  
"Yeah, but...remember, on Souta's birthday? You were over, and I asked you, and you said you didn't know, so _I_ said it was ok, we could just pick a day, and celebrate your life that way. I mean, it's been _over_ a year since we met so you _had_ to have had a birthday in there _somewhere_. Besides, it's more important that we are celebrating your life, not just the _day._ You know. Saying, "We're glad you're alive and here" and stuff."  
He just blinked, shocked. He voice didn't want to work. He watched her, wide-eyed.  
"There's...I got mom to pick up a cake for you. And some restaurant food. It's nothing big. The cake, I mean. Vanilla. It should be good."  
Silence.  
Kagome shook her head, exasperated, "_Will you say something, I don't know if you're upset, angry, or think I'm crazy!"_  
"No! I mean yes! I mean...you're not crazy! I...I...I..." he blinked at the sheath strap again, still not sure what to say, what to do.  
Her whole family was celebrating _him_. That he was _alive_ and was there, with them.  
He looked up at her again, and the utterly _lost_ look on his face moved her. His eyes were a changing flash of emotions, and he had no idea which to use.  
Kagome smiled, "I'm sorry for, you know, whispering and stuff. I had to try and keep it secret. I couldn't go all out, but I at least wanted to try and surprise you. So...surprise!" she laughed.  
Souta stuck his head around the corner, "Um..."  
Kagome laughed, "He knows."  
"Alright! Come on, InuYasha, come eat! This stuff is soooo yummy! And cake! Happy birthday!" Laughing, Souta ran back to the table.  
"Come on," Kagome laughed, "Let's go eat."  
InuYasha looked at Kagome, his stomach fluttering, still feeling like his tongue didn't want to work right.  
He wanted to kiss her.  
He wanted to kiss her _so bad,_ he ached.  
"Yeah," he croaked, "Alright."  
Kagome laughed again, and darted behind him. She planted her hands on his back, and started to propell him towards the kitchen, "Here he comes!"  
He rounded the corner to see Mrs. Higurashi, Kagome's grandfather, and Souta, all smiling happily at him. The food was set out, and there was a large white cake on the counter, waiting to be cut up.  
"Come on," Mrs. Higurashi said kindly, "Sit down and dig in, InuYasha."  
_Her whole family. For me._  
He smiled.

END


End file.
